Category: Press

Pre-employment screening has become a standard procedure in the hiring process. A survey by HR.com and the National Association of Professional Background Screeners found out that 96% of employers run background checks on their applicants.

Your employees bring your company’s brand with them, and their work ethic speaks of your company’s reputation. If you belong to the 4% who doesn’t perform pre-employment screenings on applicants, perhaps the reasons below will convince you to do so:

1. Due diligence avoids liability.

Based on a friend’s recommendation, you hire a driver for your starting tourist services business without running a pre-employment screening. Days later, you both land at the local police department because of an accident involving the car driven by your employee. The police showed you his past records of driving under influence (DUI). He has a string of police records, and a history of refusing rehabilitation for his alcoholism.

According to a 2017 survey by CareerBuilder, 75% of hiring managers find false information in applicant resumes. Many jobseekers put a white lie or two in their previous work descriptions to make them sound more appealing, and some even go as far as fabricating their academic qualifications and certifications—with supporting documents that turn out to be fraudulently obtained.

So how do you sort out the truth from all the lies? You run a pre-employment screening, and look into the educational background, work experience and character references—and if there is one glaring inconsistency, go to the next applicant.

3. Employee theft is a real issue.

No one wants a theft for an employee, but it is a rampant problem. According to cFirst, 75% of employees steal at least one instance, 55% of these are managers, and 30% of business failures stem from workplace theft. Appalling, isn’t it? Even the Assocation of Certified Fraud Examiners say that businesses lose about 5% of total revenues every year due to employees stealing money and inventory.

Workplace theft also goes beyond cash and equipment as far as intellectual property is concerned, as in the case of employees or managers stealing a colleague’s idea such as manuscripts, drawings, proposals, videos and articles.

Running pre-employment screenings on all applicants filters out those with existing records on theft and fraud. Depending on the extent of the crime, your pre-employment screening provider can acquire records from the police, court and the federal bureau to look into the criminal history of the applicant. Even verification with an applicant’s former employer can reveal plenty of relevant information.

4. Drug use is prevalent.

Drug abuse in the workplace is disastrous—to the employees, business and the country. According to a 2011 report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the United States lost around $740 billion due to crimes and diseases related to drug abuse.

Drug users become less productive at work and are a negative influence to their colleagues. They are also prone to involvement in other offenses due to their drug problem, such as workplace theft, violence and bullying.

Whether distribution, possession or actual use of drugs, no employer wants an employee slapped with any of these charges. Apart from pre-employment screening, the hiring process requires a mandatory medical exam that includes drug testing performed by recommended laboratories. In fact, many companies are now doing regular drug testing to maintain a drug-free workplace.

5. Bad hire has its consequences.

Hiring an employee without running a pre-employment check is a bad hiring practice, and it has its consequences. Take for example Zappos, a famous American shoe and clothing retailer: CEO Tony Hsieh once said that bad hires cost his company a whopping $100 million, according to Business Insider.

Mis-hires are actually more disastrous than what you think. An unqualified manager selects a team of his own, spawning bad habits and influencing other employees. When you take out the bad manager from the equation, should you also drag along the employees? Top-level executives and the human resource management should deal with this seriously. You don’t want to be dealing with bad hires, but it’s difficult to reset bad behaviors and make sure they don’t revert to their old ways. Employees may also suffer from a loss of morale.

In the end, the company hires another employee in place of the bad hire, but only after a more careful selection process. Re-recruitment may be beneficial, but definitely not when it’s done due to a mis-hire. Hiring people doesn’t come cheap—the average company in the UK spends around £3000 per hire.

6. Employees should be safe in their workplace.

The ultimate goal of pre-employment screenings is workplace safety—at all times, in all areas, for all the employees. An employee who encounters an injury resulting from a violent colleague, for instance, may hold the company liable. Depending on the country’s laws on workplace safety, additional charges may also be filed.

If you own a business, or belong to the top management of a corporation, you don’t want a sex offender walking freely in the hallway, or a overstaying foreign worker negotiating with clients in your behalf. All employees, from the top level down to the last worker in the hierarchy, should feel safe and protected from internal threats.

The Bottomline

Although pre-employment screening is not required in all countries, there are laws that protect the privacy of applicants. You can certainly run a background check on any of your employees, but there are legal ramifications especially when it is done without consent. In most cases, companies perform the pre-employment screening as a matter of risk management—and when they do, they do it with the applicant’s informed consent.

Most companies may not have the resources to perform pre-employement screenings their own, but there are background check providers who can do all the work. A basic pre-employment screening may cost more or less $200, but the final rate depends on the country or state, the extent of the check and the number of applicants to be screened.

What is a few hundred or even a thousand dollars for pre-employment screening, when you can prevent disasters worth millions of dollars due to a rogue employee or two? What is the time and effort spent in checking every employee’s background, when your mind is at peace knowing you’ve chosen the right people to run your company? Pre-employment screening protects your business’ best interests and makes sure your goals are met without compromising employee satisfaction.

Do you believe that background checks involve individuals only? Think again. If companies can do a little digging on individuals, it can happen the other way around, too—though it’s not a common practice. What’s common is companies investigating other companies due to business partnerships, agreements or conflicts.

Do you run your own company? Do you hold a position of trust in a large corporation? Here are important facts you should know about company background checks—and why you should consider it.

Fact 1: Businesses, corporations and organizations should be duly registered.

This is a fact that doesn’t need much explanation. Whether it’s a big corporation with 500 employees or a social enterprise manned by a five-man team, it’s only legal in every sense of the word when everything is registered or licensed down to the tiniest detail.

If you want to forge a partnership with a restaurant who has a legitimate business registration but does not issue official receipts to their customers, you need to take a few steps backward—and never look back. This is a common result in company background checks. Misrepresentation and failure to comply with country or state requirements have severe ramifications.

Fact 2: Court records reveal previous or current lawsuits.

According to a July 2018 CNN news article, pharmaceutical giant Novartis recalled the heart drug Vasartan from Germany and other European countries due to findings stating that the 2,300 batches sent contained a carcinogenic impurity. Can you imagine the legal consequences that the manufacturer may face because of this?

If your company background check reveals that there is no history of a lawsuit, well and good. If there is a dismissed lawsuit in favor of the company, take it with a grain of salt. Let your corporate lawyer analyze it to identify possible risks if you propose a partnership.

There is no perfect company, and even large corporations face a handful of complaints on a regular basis. A thorough company background check can give you an informed choice to push through any plans of partnering or merging.

Fact 3: Top-level executives tell a lot about the company.

Whether it’s the CEO, Director, President or Board Member of a leading corporation, or the investor or proprietor of a small yet lucrative business—doing a background check on these VIPs is a helpful add-on to a company background check. Their distinct status and exceptional skills and experience reflect how a company is doing, especially in the aspect of employer-employee relations.

Part of doing a background check on these individuals is knowing their past affiliations. Where did they obtain their academic degrees? Are they in good terms with former business partners? How do they handle employee grievances? What do former and current colleagues say about them?

These questions tell a lot about how they work and how well they handle the company, and the answers can help you arrive at the best decision.

You don’t need a security firm to perform a quick Internet search on a certain company or group. Social media is a popular platform where people can share virtually anything.

When a retail store becomes known for its excellent customer service, people will share about it online. In comparison, when an ill-behaving waitress gains exposure, people will still rant about it online. When the content is exceptionally engaging, regardless if it puts a certain business in a good or bad light, it becomes viral and leaves a virtual footprint that will stay for a long time.

You do need a security firm to perform a company background check on how a business handles negative news and reviews online. Companies nowadays form a social media management team to make sure their online presence remains positive.

Fact 5: A face-to-face encounter gives more clues about the company and its dealings.

It’s true that there are always two sides of a story. Even in company background checks, interacting with the representative tells a lot about the company. This gives the company a chance to personally raise, explain or propose important matters to you.

A sit-down chat can gauge how well the business representative responds to your questions. You can also personally profile the company and assess how you can work with them in the future. Did the representative come on time? Is the company results-driven? Is the company professional in all of their corporate dealings?

When you feel at ease speaking with the manager of a certain business that you would like to work with, it makes decision-making easier. This is another helpful supplement on top of a typical company background check.

Considering all these facts about company background checks, you will need the expertise of a security firm or agency who can provide this service to you. A comprehensive background investigation of a company will require a lot of records requested from several government offices and private firms. Like persons background check, expect to see results in aspects like business registrations, labor complaints, credit history and criminal history.

A company background check is a recommended measure when planning to do business with other companies. If you are a business owner or hold a top position in a corporation, you know that a thorough screening of all possible business associates is a must. Before forging any partnership or agreement, a company background check is therefore a smart investment to ensure that your business remains thriving and reputable.

HAMBURG (September 2018) – Seuss Recruitment BV, a recruitment partner providing recruitment solutions to the Life Sciences industry has appointed Privatimus GmbH, a German security consultancy specializing in strategic security concepts as their partner in applicant pre-employment screening. This partnership provides Seuss Recruitment access to Privatimus’ global expertise in comprehensive applicant background checks and verification, to assure highly qualified candidates for their clients in the Life Sciences industry.

“Pre-employment screening is already a standard procedure for hiring new employees in the USA and many other countries, with rapidly growing interest in Europe,” said Sven Leidel, Partner at Privatimus. “In-depth applicant checks confirming what is stated on a CV, such as duration of employment, job title, description and responsibilities, education credentials, and professional certificates are essential in reducing risks for employers during the hiring process. Statistically speaking, approximately two-thirds of all applications show inconsistencies, at various degrees of severity.”

With a vast candidate network uniquely spanning both Europe and North America, Seuss Recruitment has crafted the art of modern match making in providing recruitment solutions to the Life Sciences industry, including pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical device, and nutrition industries.

“Few employers will dig beneath the surface to confirm validity of information provided by the candidate, such as their expertise and qualifications,” said Sabine Hutchison, CEO of Seuss Recruitment. “Some cite ethical concerns and time, while many others are unsure where to begin or where digging is allowed.

“This gets especially complicated in an international hiring situation. Which law applies, for example, if the employer is located in Germany, the position is in the Netherlands and the candidate is originally from Russia with work experience also in the US and UK? Now we’re getting into some murky legal waters, which is why an experienced professional company like Privatimus is critical for us to work with.”

Areas of expertise offered by Privatimus in pre-employment screening include verification of certificates and references, comparison of the CV with accompanying documents, Open Source Intelligence, integrity tests and more. “Our proven approach to candidate reviews gives Seuss Recruitment’s clients assurance in protecting their business interests,” added Leidel. “Confidence in an applicant’s presentation on a CV is a starting point, but confirmation of the information is critical in hiring truly qualified employees.”

“Using a comprehensive background screening program with expert services from Privatimus will increase the quality of new hires, and thus our client’s confidence in hiring their next new employee,” concluded Hutchison. “Talent acquisition can be a struggle for many businesses, and qualifying candidates with accurate information is a great portion of that struggle. New hires are costly, and we believe that much more time should be invested at the beginning of the process, to assure the most synergistic match between candidates and our clients at a global scale.”

About Seuss Recruitment BV

At Seuss Recruitment, we have crafted the art of modern match making as a recruitment partner providing recruitment solutions to the Life Sciences industry, including pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical device, and nutrition industries.

We find the most synergistic fit between professionals and forward-thinking companies, with a vast candidate network uniquely spanning both Europe and North America. Via our diverse recruitment services, we create tailored solutions for different levels and phases of recruitment.

Visit Seuss Recruitment BV: www.pharma-recruitment.com

About Privatimus GmbH

We are a company with integrity and extensive expertise. Since 1993, our experts have been concentrating on servicing an exclusive clientele. With our worldwide network of experts, we support our customers nationally and internationally. In this way, we ensure that the best possible support is provided across national and cultural borders and that the business interests as well as the highly personal private interests of our customers are protected.